by Delisa Lynn
He places his lips on my neck. I feel him sucking and rolling his tongue on my delicate skin.
“A hickey?” I laugh and roll my eyes. Hickeys are definitely an Ellis thing. Back in high school, Ashton was a big fan of them too.
He works his way down my body, kissing every inch of it just as he said he would. He leaves freaking hickeys all over me. When he reaches my thighs, he spreads each leg open. As he does, the bikini slides down. In seconds, I’m lying in the middle of our beach with nothing covering me except his sexy body.
“Are you still sore, baby? I don’t want you to overdo it.”
“I’m a little sore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue kissing me everywhere else.”
“Mmm. That’s what I like to hear. God, I love you, woman.”
His kisses make me want to have multiple orgasms, and not the small ones either—the ones that last for minutes, where your entire body shakes and your toes curl.
“Yes, Liam, right there.” I wrap both hands in his short messy hair as he kisses my neck. “Please, I need you inside of me.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you or make your soreness worse.”
“It’s fine. I will be okay. Just make love to me. I need you so damn bad.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Liam
Greyson turned two months old today. Lila has decided not to go back to work. She loves staying home with the kids, and that’s where I love her being. Kade finally moved into his place and Ashton and AJ bought the house next door. We like having them nearby so AJ can play with the kids. AJ and my girls are so close; he’s like a big brother to them.
Things at work have been keeping me busy, but today Lila and I are going to get our new tattoos. I’m getting two, but she doesn’t know that yet.
She still hasn’t agreed to let Ashton give them to us. Maybe she’ll change her mind when she sees him at the tattoo shop. He finally called his cop friends. Now Christa is in a jail in Vermont. She’d gotten into trouble there before her and Ashton met. He didn’t turn her in when he found out about it months ago, but after all the shit she pulled, he realized it was time. He and AJ shouldn’t live in fear because of her stupidity.
“You ready? Did you say you were getting a tattoo sleeve?” I ask Lila jokingly. She hasn’t told me what she wants, but I know it’s something small.
“Ha, ha. Nope. What I’m getting will fit right here on my wrist.”
“Next to the star or your other wrist?”
“My other wrist. So, are you getting yours right here?” she asks, running her hand down my side.
“Well, that depends. I’m still not sure what I want. Let’s go, before we’re late.”
“Are we going to the one Ashton works at?” she asks as we drive out of the driveway.
“Maybe. Do you know another tattoo place?” I ask.
“No, Ashton’s is fine, I guess. I just don’t want him doing mine. If you want him to do yours, that’s fine. He isn’t touching me with a needle.”
“We’ll see if his buddy, Toom, will do it. He’s been doing them a long time and Ashton said he is a great artist.”
“Okay, good. That’s what I like to hear. When Addison and I went and got our butterflies done, there were some creepy guys in there. We made sure we got the hot guy.”
“Oh, the hot guy, huh? Um, weren’t you and I dating when you had that done?” I tease.
She rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”
***
Lila
I can’t wait for Liam to see the tattoo I’m getting. This is the one I’ve wanted for a while, the one I couldn’t get when I went on my little adventure. I know he will love it; I’m hoping he will get one like it once he sees it. Then again, he may think it’s too girly, but maybe he’ll surprise me and get it.
“Are you thinking about changing your mind? You can just watch me get mine, considering you’ve been asking me for months to get it.”
“Oh hell no; I’m getting it done. So are you. I love looking at the ink on your body. Trust me, you are sexy without it, but you are even sexier with it. Just don’t get them all over your arms like your cousins. That’s way too many, just my personal opinion.”
“So, my tattoos make me sexy? Well, if that’s the case, I’ll get as many as you want me to.”
“Stop it. You know exactly what I mean.”
When we pull in front of the shop, Liam walks around and opens my door. I see Ashton’s bike sitting in the parking lot. I had a feeling he would be here. We see Ashton working with a client when we walk in. He is a good artist, but I just can’t fathom the thought of him tattooing me. We’ll see, though. I may change my mind. I guess it would be better than some stranger I don’t know.
“What’s up, Liam? You here to get some ink, man?” Toom asks.
“Yes, sir. The little lady and I want matching tattoos. I would like Ashton to do the piece he has been working on for my side and I think Lila wants you to put hers on her wrist. Is that right, babe?”
“Um, Ashton can do mine, but before he does yours, if that’s okay.”
Damn it. I knew that was going to happen. You walked right into that, Lila. Sometimes I should think before I speak.
“Aight, y’all give Ellis some time. He’ll be finished with the other client soon and then he’ll get y’all started. Did you need any piercings while you were here?”
“No, we are okay. We only want the tattoos,” I say. I didn’t realize how loud I was until Liam starts laughing and everyone stares at me
“Are you nervous, baby? You seem so tense. Are you sure about this?” he asks, running his hand down my arm.
“Yep, I’m good. You know I don’t want any piercings. I mean, if you do, that’s fine with me. I’ve heard that they are very pleasurable,” I say without thinking. I turn ten shades of red. Not only did Liam hear me, but so did the other men.
“Hmm. Maybe I’ll get a piercing, just for you. Hell, I didn’t think our sex life could get any better, but if you say so.”
“No, I was kidding. No piercings.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lila
Now that I’m done being the laughingstock of the shop, it’s our turn to get our body art done. We walk back into a room that has two tables and about four chairs and mirrors everywhere. Liam still hasn’t showed me what he is getting. He and Ashton have it all planned, I guess.
“Okay, so I’m first. Let’s get this done. And Ashton, if you hurt me or fuck this up, I will break your neck,” I say in a serious tone.
“Oh good. So no pressure to do a good job, right?” he says as he puts on a pair of gloves.
“This is what I want, and I want it in this deep purple trimmed with pink. Can you do that? Will it look okay?”
“Yes, I can do that, and I think it will be perfect,” he says.
I sit down and place my wrist on the table. I take a deep breath. Liam holds my other hand. Ashton cleans my arm and starts working with the letters. This one is more painful than I remember the others being, probably because of the location on my wrist. I squeeze Liam’s hand with my eyes closed. I don’t want to look at either of them.
“You okay? Do you need to take a break?” Ashton asks, the needle still in my wrist.
“I’m good. Keep on working, mister.”
“Li, it looks good and the colors are amazing. I can’t tell exactly what it says just yet, though,” Liam says.
“You will see soon enough.”
I grit my teeth. If I can birth a ten pound baby, then I can get a little tattoo, I keep saying to myself.
“Okay, Li. What do you think? You can open your eyes now,” Ashton says. It’s been a good hour and my butt is numb.
He holds my wrist up in front of my face. It looks so amazing, I’m in awe. I didn’t think he could pull it off.
“Let me see. What does it say?” Liam asks.
He looks at my tattoo and reads what it says aloud. “Embracing Us.” His brown eyes gleam.
He hugs me and whispers, “Always.”
“Thank you, Ashton. I love it. Although it hurt badly, I’m not going to lie.”
I wipe a tear from my cheek, knowing I look like a big baby. I hate needles and pain.
“It looks amazing. Now it’s my turn,” Liam says.
“Can y’all excuse me?” I stand up and stretch. “I’m going to the restroom.”
I walk to the back of the shop. I know where the bathroom is from the last time I was here. I pull out my phone, take a picture of my new tattoo and text it to Nikki and Megan. I know they’ll both want to see it. I call Sofia and check on my babies.
I walk back in and see Liam laying on one side. Ashton is working on Liam’s other side. I still don’t know what he is getting, but whatever it is will be huge. It’s taking forever. I sit next to the table and he looks at me, smiling.
***
“All right, brother. You ready to show her?” Ashton asks.
“Yep, more than ready. I think she will be pretty happy with it, but if not, then you’ll have to cover it up with another design,” he jokes.
It better be huge, considering a few hours have passed. “Oh, stop it. Let me see what it is,” I say.
Ashton moves aside so I can have room to look at Liam’s ribcage. It’s perfect. I gasp and hold back tears. He also got the words ‘Embracing Us,’ but in banner style. My name and the names of all three of the kids branch off from ‘Embracing Us.’
“I love it. When did you guys plan this?” I ask, looking at it closely.
“See, I told you she would,” Ashton says.
“I’ve wanted to get the girls names for a while, but I figured I’d wait once we found out you were pregnant.”
“Well, I hope you have room left for another name. I had a voicemail from Dr. Brewster. When I went for my check up, they ran a test and it looks like I got pregnant the night of Nikki and Brody’s wedding.”
I kiss Liam’s hand. His mouth is hanging open and Ashton just stares at me. Leave it to me to make the two of them speechless.
“I’m only five weeks. It’s still too early to tell anything, so I’d be happy if you guys keep this between us. I don’t want to tell the kids or our mothers until I’m in my second trimester,” I say to them, wiggling my finger at the both of them. Let’s see how long they can keep quiet.
“That’s great, baby. I would love to have a house full of Ellis’s running around.” Liam kisses me.
“Well, I guess a congratulations is in order. You two are so damn fertile. So, you two banged at the wedding? I hope you at least waited until after everyone left, unlike at your wedding. Yeah, I know about that.” Ashton says. I glare at him. “Okay, never mind. Y’all are some horn dogs. And you talk about me. At least I don’t go to weddings looking to get it on.”
He laughs and gives Liam a fist bump.
“Shut up, man. We’re leaving. I’ll leave your money upfront. Remember, don’t tell anyone. Can you do that?” Liam says. He hugs Ashton.
“Yeah, yeah, I guess. You know Kade and Megan are going to find out soon, though.”
“We can tell them, but no one else,” I say.
Epilogue
A Year Later
Liam
I always wonder what would have happened if my parents hadn’t passed away, if I hadn’t moved and met Lila. I knew that day, when I was only fourteen, that I would marry her someday. I never dreamed all the other stuff would have happened, but it did, and it was all meant to happen. All of it: me being injured and missing; her being with Evan and her accident; Addison getting murdered; Lila’s father dying. Everything is for a reason. When I found out she was pregnant with Greyson and that he may not be mine, I could have left. Hell, people probably think I’m crazy for not leaving.
But we all make mistakes. There was no way in hell I was going to leave her. I was hurt and I wanted to kill Evan. Thinking about it still pisses me off, but we are all only human. I would hope that if it were me who had fallen in love with someone else while she was away that she would be just as understanding. I could never love anyone as much as I love this woman. Every day she seems to amaze me.
We just celebrated Greyson’s first birthday. Rory is a few months old. Poor Greyson is outnumbered with three sisters and another sibling on the way. We are hoping for another boy, but if it’s a girl, we will love her just the same and keep on trying. After all, we are pretty good at making beautiful babies.
Watching her with our children daily always puts a smile on my face. The love she has for them and me makes me understand why I looked past everything that happened with Evan. I can honestly say I’m completely happy with my life. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t fall more in love with Lila. There is no other woman in the world I would want to be the mother of my children. She supports everything I do and understands every aspect of both of the Winery and Ellis Boys Investigations. She helps out any way she can.
I’ve learned that letting things go is hard to do. It burns a hole in your heart, but, in the end, it’s always best to let go. Embracing the one you love can make you mad, but looking in Lila’s piercing blue eyes and knowing she is mine and only mine makes me feel like one lucky man.
Our love was salvaged.
The End
Playlist
These are all the songs I listened to while writing Salvaged. Each one has a meaning for different characters. Not all of the songs are in the book. But I’ve listened to each one over and over. I love music of all generations, so all of my playlist will have a little of everything. You can listen to this playlist on Spotify.
Gorilla by Bruno Mars
Stay by Rihanna and Mikky Ekko
Someone Else Calling You Baby by Luke Bryan
Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran
Just Give Me A Reason by Pink and Nate Ruess
Fuckin Perfect by Pink
Until The End Of Time by Justin Timberlake
Fall Too Pieces by Avril Lavigne
Unfaithful by Rihanna
Love The Way You Lie by Rihanna and Eminem
Mad by Ne-yo
Without You by David Guetta, featuring Usher
I Cry by Flo Rida
Fix You by Coldplay
Missing You by Brandy, Tamia, Gladys Knight
Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke
Nothing Without Her by Nelly
Get Low by Lil Jon
Yeah by Usher, Lil Jon, Ludacris
Better In Time by Leona Lewis
The Scientist by Coldplay
Apologize by One Republic
Secrets by One Republic
Prologue
Ansley
Today I graduate from Poland High. I’ve waited ten years for this day. I went to the mall for the first time ever yesterday and bought a pretty white dress to wear with the pair of blue heels that I received from my aunt on my sixteenth birthday. I had my long black hair trimmed. The stylist suggested I add choppy layers with caramel highlights, so I did. It’s still long and flows down my back.
I primp for a few more minutes and realize it’s time for me to leave. While walking out of my bedroom I yell, “Momma, you here?”
I look in her room, but I don’t see her. I close the door back so it’s the way I found it. Taking the steps two at a time, I don’t see either of my parents once I get downstairs.
I go to my car and head toward the school. I overheard some girls talking a few days ago about the parties and all the pictures they were planning on taking. Me? I have no friends. No one wants pictures of me, nor have I been invited to any of those parties. I’m Ansley Dolce, the poor girl. There are only a few people I talk to here and there, but I don’t really consider any of them friends. I go to school, then home. That’s how it’s been all my life. Even in middle school, I was pointed at and made fun of because of the things I didn’t have.
As soon as I pull into the parking lot, I see that it’s packed. There are cars and people everywhere. I take
my route to my assigned seat and smile. This time next week, I’ll be on my way to college. Once I leave here, my life will start and I can push all of the bad memories to the back of my mind.
I watch the audience fill up and look for my parents, but I never find them. Once the ceremony starts, they call off everyone’s names. When my name is called, I accept my diploma and return to my seat. My parents are still nowhere to be found. I don’t know why I thought they would show up. I hoped they would, but that just goes to show they don’t love me. They’ve hated me the last ten years.
I listen as Mr. Castle, the principal, calls all the other names. Then he announces the Poland Panthers Class of 2005. I toss my hat up with everyone else, but I leave my hat on the ground. I say congrats to a few people that I’ve studied with. I hug a few of my teachers and thank them for everything they taught me. I walk through the crowd of folks into the main hall. I need to see it one last time. I step in front of the large case and wipe away the tears that have hit my nose.
I look up at the picture of my brother that is encased with his letterman jacket. The last four years, I walked by this every day. I know he would have been here today. This is all that’s left of him. After today I’ll never see it again.
“I love you, Angelo Dolce,” I whisper as I place my hand on the cold glass. “You’re always in my heart.” I look at my surroundings one last time before walking out the main door.
